2 comments:

A group of teenagers came down my street last night trick or treating. It was dark and I couldn't see very well, but none of them had on costumes. I asked one of the girls I knew what was on her face, thinking it was some kind of face paint in some design. "Lipstick," she said.

Lipstick. That was the improvisation and their alternative to buying Halloween costumes that would only be used once.

On the other hand, my friend in Missouri showed me pictures of the kids who trick or treated in her neighborhood. Every last one of them had costumes that had obviously been purchased...and not the $7 plastic ones we used to buy when I was a kid.

It's always interesting to me to live with a foot in both worlds. I like to think it keeps me a little more grounded than if I lived only in the world I grew up in (which would be the costume world).

My neighborhood is like yours, Larry, (I live a few blocks from low-income apartments, on all sides) and I know what you mean... I wouldn't miss being home for my Trick-or-Treaters for anything in the world. It is one of my favorite nights. A few kids come from my block of middle class homes, but most are from the apartments.

My daughters invited me to be at their house, in a more affluent area close by, but there's no way I'd miss seeing my local kids on Halloween.

I put the basket of candy in front of the kids and said, "Take as much as you want," and their superb manners and unwillingness to be greedy or grabby is lovely to observe. Oftentimes, I'd have to say, "Take more if you like." Only one child out of maybe fifty that came by grabbed even a handful.

Boy, do we middle-class folks have some misconceptions about people living in poverty. We really need to know them 'up close and personal.'

Larry James' Urban Daily

A repository of ideas, resources, commentary and opinions concerning the issues facing low-income residents of the inner cities of the United States and how mainstream America largely forgets or, worse, ignores the day-to-day realities of urban life for the so-called "poor." Written and edited by the President & CEO of CitySquare. Please visit CitySquare.